Division I Men’s Collegiate Round of 16 Kicks of Tomorrow

BOULDER, Colo. — In the Emirates Airline USA Rugby Division I Men’s Playoffs, 16 of the top DI men’s college teams will square off this weekend at four locations around the country.

The four venues for the Men’s DI College Playoffs are the University of California – Santa Barbara (UCSB), National Sports Center in Blaine, Minn., Bowling Green State University (BGSU), and the University at Buffalo.

One team from each of the four locations will earn a spot in the semifinals on May 13, with semifinal winners advancing to the National Championship game on May 14. Both the semifinal and the final will be played in Stanford, Calif.

Bowling Green State University, Temple University, the University of Florida, and the University of Maryland make up Group A. BGSU takes on Temple and Florida is set play Maryland.

Group B sees Harvard facing off against fellow Beantowners Northeastern University, and Southern Connecticut will take on the hosts University at Buffalo in the opening round.

Harvard make its first appearance in the DI men’s playoffs since 2004 when they made the semifinals. Northeastern claimed the New England championship, solidifying its spot in the national series for the first time.

Southern Connecticut State is also a newcomer to the DI tournament, having secured the Metropolitan New York conference title during the fall. Buffalo enters into the series as the New York State conference champion and will face Southern Connecticut State in Group B.

The University of Davenport, University of Minnesota, Kansas State, and Texas State will fill the Group C fixtures. Davenport and Minnesota will play one another and Kansas State will play Texas State to determine which teams will advance to the Round of 8 and beyond.

Group D will see Oregon State battle hosts UC – Santa Barbara and the perennial DII powerhouse, University of Northern Colorado that made the leap to DI this year and will play Stanford University in the Round of 16.

Winners of the Round of 16 move on to the Round of 8, the losers from the Round of 16 will play again on Sunday to determine seeding for next year’s playoffs.